We're finishing up our 2nd week of "Mystery of History Vol. 1" and "Illuminations."  It has been a good start to our school year and the kids seem to be really enjoying our studies of Creation and the Ancient World.  Next week we dive into Ancient Egypt - should be fun!  I anticipate toilet paper mummies, cunieform in clay, and other hands-on projects.  This past week we made cells out of jello (see "proof" below).  The kids used a marshmellow for the nucleous and candy for the organelles.  They probably would've turned out better if we had used a pie plate instead of plastic cups and something that doesn't float as a nucleous.  I didn't think that one through - gotta beef up on my jello-ology.  Oh well, they got the idea!  Now if I could just get them to actually EAT those congealed messes (did I mention that I HATE jello and refuse to eat it!).

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Seems like lately there's been a lot of pressure all around me.  Pressure to excel in our school work (I am beginning to really hate biology...sssh...don't tell my kids!)  pressure to be the best mom I can be (ok, so this one I'm putting on myself), pressure to succeed as a church planter, pressure to be an awesome worship leader, pressure to be an incredible children's pastor (too many church jobs?), pressure to be the best help-mate for my husband, pressure to keep my house clean and my kids clean, pressure to get dinner on the table before 9pm and dishes done before collapsing on the couch, pressure to keep the bills paid and our heads above water, pressure, pressure, pressure! 

But, I want to take a look at the word "Pressure" for a moment.  Compliments of Miriam-Webster online:

Definition #1 speaks alot to me right now. The "BURDEN" of physical or mental distress.....Hmmmm... I know that alot of my pressure is mental.  I can be very mental (LOL!).  I can put so much on myself that I break under the weight of it all.  Do you ever do this?  I think as moms, wives, homeschoolers, church people - we tend to take on a lot of stuff that doesn't belong to us. 

When I look at the word PRESSURE I see two words: PRESS and SURE.  Then I have to wonder...am I pressing into the Lord?  Am I sure of His promises and am I sure of my trust in Him?  When the PRESSURE of life is on, am I pressing into Him?  Do I trust Him?  Am I sure that what I'm doing in life is what He is calling me to do?  Am I sure that I am on the path that He has set before me, or is it my own path?  The Lord just reminded me of this song Yet I Will Praise  - makes me cry every time I hear it. 

So, today, if you're feeling pressured I want you to take a coffee break, kick back and put your feet up for 6 minutes, watch this video, listen to the words, and let the love of our Father wash over you and give you peace.  For His yoke is easy, and His burden is light!  Really!  No pressure!   

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Because of the evolution in teaching math since the 1950’s:

1. Teaching Math In 1950’s
   A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit ?
2. Teaching Math In 1960’s
   A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100 His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?
3. Teaching Math In 1970’s
   A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80. Did he make a profit?
4. Teaching Math In 1980’s
   A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.
5. Teaching Math In 1990’s
   A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. He does this so he can make a profit of $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their homes? (There are no wrong answers, and if you feel like crying, it’s ok. )
6. Teaching Math In 2008
   Un hachero vende una carretada de maderapara $100. El costo de la producciones es $80. Cuanto dinero ha hecho?

I found this cartoon & "joke" while looking at someone's blog who does not homeschool.  This is very, very sad to me (unfortunately, I think it might be somewhat true).  I was a student in the 80's and I know that math class was a joke.  Two of my kids went to p.s. for a short time and by the end of 2nd grade my dd couldn't add 2+3 together or explain why it equaled 5.  That's when I took her out of school, and at the beginning of 3rd grade she was redoing Kindergarten math.  I only pray that I can teach my children better math than what they would be getting in the local p.s.  It's "jokes" like this that make me very happy that we've chosen to homeschool our children.

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So one of the perks of using Sonlight for the past several years is that I go to the website, click a few buttons, and WHAMO! (insert lightening strike here) The books are in the mail!! YIPPEE!!!! 

Not so this year, my dear friends.  I have crossed over to the "dark side" of curriculum purchasing.  I have left (gasp) Sonlight (which really does bum me out) and have entered the domain of "find your own books sweetie!"  I am now searching the shelves of major bookseller boxstore #1 (which I will affectionately call MB1) and major bookseller boxstore #2 (MB2), making store employees crazy, spending countless hours a A*******.com and various other websites trying to find the cheapest copy of "The Illiad."  WHAT WAS I THINKING????   That idea from a friend about using the Bible, a mathbook, and a notebook is sounding more and more appealing to me each day. hahahaa! 

So I go into MB1 this afternoon with my list of titles and ISBN numbers in hand and I find a nice young woman named Nicole behind the help desk.  I explain to her that I will take a lot of her time up and would she be willing to help me locate said library of books.  She joyfully said yes and starts typing into her computer.  Well, needless to say, MB1 only had 5 of my 40 books on site.  She said she could order the other ones as long as they were in her system (4 of them are not).  So I ordered 30 of them and happily went on my way.  I am so grateful for this woman and for the MB1 Teacher's Discount card, which they gave me NO hassles over at the cash register. 

Then, I go to MB2.  A young college-aged man steps up to the "do it yourself" kiosk and says to me, "Do you need help?" to which I reply, "No, I think I can do this with the ISBN numbers that I have, but thanks anyways."  So he continues to stand there and watch me type my numbers into the search engine.  This makes me feel self-conscious, so I start typing in the wrong numbers.  "You typed an = instead of a - there."  Oh.  "You spelled that wrong."  Oh.  "That book isn't in stock."  Really?  I hadn't noticed.  My patience is declining and all I want to do is deck the kid.  Then the Holy Spirit interjects and I find myself humming "they'll know we are Christians by our love" in my head.  Oh, oh, oh! 

Convicted....."Excuse me, do you think you could help me find this Archeological Bible?" and he replies, "yeah, who's the author?"  Ok, so I laughed out loud.  I did.  I laughed so out loud that the lady at the next counter started laughing too.  I had to do it.  You know you would've done it too....c'mon and admit it!  "Well, I do believe that God is the author of the Bible."  then I had to follow up with a quick "I'm sorry - I'm just being funny.  I don't know who the publisher is of that translation."  He didn't seem too amused and looked up the book based on keyword.  No go.  He asked me if I needed anything else and then sprinted across the store to get away from me.  Poor lad.  I walked out of MB2 without any purchases because they didn't have anything I was looking for.  Back to the dot.com's for me...

In preparing for this year I'm discovering that my Charlotte Mason style of teaching is really greater than I think.  I just realized that lapbooks make my spine tingle, I can never get enough of those living books, nature studies are right up my alley, and 3 ring binders on sale are always a purchase I cannot surpass.  I guess I've been spoiled by the "you can get it all here" mentality of my previous curriculum provider, but I am oh so grateful that I've started this trek for all those perfect ancient history and science books now and didn't decide to procrastinate until the end of August to begin shopping (who me procrastinate???)  Only 8 or so more books to find before I'm done for the first semester.

Now onto a daily schedule for all of us.  I have a plan to get up earlier than normal so that I can get some real quiet time in before the troops arise (although my 15yo dd seems to think 11am is too early in the morning).  Need to figure this one out soon.  

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Ok, so I've spent all day working on a spreadsheet for the "Mystery of History" curriculum.  They are putting together a new language arts package to go with MOH1 called "Illuminations" which looks really good to us.  However, it means assembling all the necessary books for the next quarter.  If I buy all of the required and all of the optional books necessary I'm looking at about $300, not including the MOH spine (which I have an original printing version, so that needs to be updated too).  If it stays at this pace I'm looking at $1200 a year for all four of my children (not including math and science).  YIKES!  I know it's a lot cheaper for us in the long run than what we've been doing, but right now our budget is tight, tight, tight.  BUT - I know that God will make a way and we'll figure out the $$'s and cents of this somehow.  It's days like today when I wonder if really can pull off unschooling...lol!! Just kidding - I know my unschooling friends are cringing right now.  I love them all the same and know that it's just not for me.  Did I mention that this "back to school" time really drives me crazy?   

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Today I'm a little cranky and tired.  I've had one cup of coffee this morning and a little peanut butter on a spoon - really healthy, huh?  Today dh and I are trying to decide what curriculum path to go down this year with our four children.  The past 8 years have been up and down for us, as far as curriculum goes.  I've discovered that I'm an eclectic type of girl, but I do need structure.  I can't "unschool" or we'd get nothing accomplished all day.  My kids are more "hands on" and I like doing all of the projects, but I need to be really prepared this year and make sure that I have stuff available so we can actually DO the projects. 

Our curriculum journey looks something like this:

Year 1:  Sonlight; Year 2:  Sonlight; Year 3:  The Prairie Primer; Year 4: The Mystery of History (kind of) and some of the Sonlight we didn't finish; Year 5:  Alpha Omega LifePacs (yeah, I know it doesn't fit in - and we felt it!); Year 6: Sonlight; Year 7: Sonlight; Year 8: Currently discussing

Why all the jumping around?  Well, I was desperately trying to manage 4 children with four different learning styles, without spending a year's worth of college tuition on our school books.  But then something happened at the end of this past year that really convicted me.  What exactly did my children learn and what did they retain?  Were they drawn closer to God through their studies?  Did they have fun?  Can they write and/or spell?  I have to honestly answer these questions now and am praying about our next steps. 

Although I love Sonlight and have been drawn to it over and over again, I am finding that my children don't necessarily love it.  In fact, my two boys have dreaded school for the past 6 months.  They are doing the work but doing it begrudgingly.  It has shown in their work too.  My dd, now a Sophomore, needs to get a better grasp of writing and wants to go into archeology in college.  She wants to "dig deeper" (pun intended) into history and ancient cultures.  So with all of this, we are leaning towards really doing Mystery of History and doing it right this time.  I'm taking the next few days to put some plans together, join some discussion groups, research costs, and see if this is going to work for us this year. 

On top of all of that I am facing another issue with my youngest dd.  She is almost 9 and still is not reading.  We've had her tested and are going to be working with a reading specialist starting next month.  I can't take her much further in her work until she's reading, so this is a massive mountain we have to overcome.  I've been praying for the Lord's help with my dd because I don't want her self-esteem to plummet.  Maybe someone other than me teaching her is the answer to this problem?  I don't know...

So that's my job for today - other than writing our Kids Church curriculum for the next 4 weeks.  Pray for me!

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This is my first blog with Homeschool Blogger and I'm just getting settled in around here.  It's kind of like moving into a new house - got the boxes scattered all over the place, the floor is a little dusty from all the moving around, the kids are running up and down the stairs claiming the bedroom that they want, and all you want to do is find a corner on the couch that's not covered in newspapers and bubble wrap and have a seat with a nice, hot, cup of café con leche. 

I look forward in the days ahead to figure out all of the bells and whistles around HSB, clean up some of the messes I may make, and really take an inventory of what I have right now.  I am beginning my 8th year homeschooling in a few weeks and I feel like I did the first day we started - disjointed, packed up in boxes without labels, and really not sure of what the next year will bring us.  Don't get me wrong -- I'm not afraid of homeschooling or doing all of the work with my children, but I always tend to get that overwhelming, "but what if I mess them up?" feeling around the middle of August.  By Novemeber it turns more into, "boy are we missing it - must get back on track!" and by February it becomes more of a, "how much longer, oh Lord, must we endure this?" kind of mentality. 

I really have come to despise, yet recognize, that cycle of doubt that most of us homeschoolers seem to go through at one point or another.  I think it's natural.  We all want the best for our children and we all tend to look at our short-comings and think that somehow we are going to ruin our little blessings by teaching them at home.  On the other hand, I've also come to recognize that once we unpack our boxes, sharpen our pencils, fire up the computer, dust off the encyclopedias, and start a few science experiments that this is what I was called to do and to do it with excellence.  The Holy Spirit will cover all of my mistakes, He will fill in the gaps for my children, and He will counsel them (and me!) where and when it's needed.  What a relief! 

Now where did I put that "Home Schooling High School Form+U+La" book? I know it has to be around here somewhere......

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